Unit 1
SETS
Lecturer: Qureshi Fauziya
College: Akbar peerbhoy college of
Commerce and Economics.
What is a Set?
A set is a well-defined collection of
distinct objects.
The objects in a set are called the
elements or members of the set.
Capital letters A,B,C,… usually
denote sets.
Lowercase letters a,b,c,… denote
the elements of a set.
Examples
The collection of the vowels in the word
“probability”.
The collection of real numbers that
satisfy the equation x 2 − 9 = 0.
The collection of two-digit positive
integers divisible by 5.
The collection of great football players in
the National Football League.
The collection of intelligent students in a
college.
Representation of set
1. Roster Method or Tabular Method or List
Method.
2. Set-Builder or Rule Method.
3. Venn Diagram.
Roster Method:
In the Roster method, we list the
elements of the set within braces
{,}. And separates the elements by
commas.
Note:
1. If the elements are repeated, they
are written only once.
2. While listing the elements , the
order in which the elements are
listed is immaterial.
Examples
State the sets using Roster method.
1) B is the set of all days in a week.
B = {Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday,
Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday}
2) C is the set of all vowels in English
alphabets
C = {a , e, i, o, u}
Set-Builder Method
In the set builder method, we
describe the elements of the set by
specifying the property which
determines the elements of the set
uniquely.
Examples
State the sets using set-Builder
method.
1) Y = {Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, ...., Dec}
Y = {x/x is a month of a year}
2) B = {1, 4, 9, 16, 25, .....}
B = {x/x∈N and x is a square}
Venn Diagrams
Set A represented as a disk inside a rectangular region representing U
(where U is a universal set).
Types of sets
1. Empty set 10. Equivalent set
2. Singleton set 11. Universal set
3. Finite set
4. Infinite set
5. Subset
6. Superset
7. Proper subset
8. Power set
9. Equal set
The Empty Set
The set with no elements.
Also called the null set.
Denoted by the symbol
xample: The set of real numbers x
that satisfy the equation
x2 +1 = 0
𝑥 2 = −1
𝑥 = −1=imaginary no.
Singleton set
A Set containing only one element
is called a singleton set.
Example: Let A be a set of all
integers which are neither positive
nor negative.
∴A = {0} Here n (A) = 1
Finite and Infinite Sets
A finite set is one which can be
counted.
Example: The set of two-digit
positive integers has 90 elements.
An infinite set is one which cannot
be counted.
Example: The set of integer
multiples of the number 5.
Subsets
A is a subset of B if every element of A is
an element of B.
Notation: A B
Note:
1. For each set A, A A
2. For each set B, Ø B
3. A is proper subset of B if A B and A B
Super set
If A ⊆ B, then B is called a superset
of A and we write, B ⊇ A.
Proper subset
A nonempty set A is said to be a proper
subset of the set B, if all elements of set A
are in set B and at least one element of B is
not in A.
i.e. If A ⊆ B and A ≠ B then A is called a
proper subset of B and we write A ⊂ B.
Example: Let A = {1, 3, 5} and B = {1, 3,
5, 7}.
Then, evey element of A is an element of B
but A ≠ B.
∴ A⊂B, i.e. A is a proper subset of B
Power set
The set of all subsets of a given set
Ais called a power set of A and is
denoted by P(A), Thus every
element of power set is a set.
Example: consider a set A={a,b}
Here Subsets of A are
Φ,{a},{b},{a,b}
(Φ is always a subset of every set)
P(A)={Φ,{a},{b},{a,b}}.
Equal Sets
Two sets A and B are equal, denoted A=B,
if they have the same elements.
Otherwise, A≠B.
Example: The set A of odd positive
integers is not equal to the set B of prime
numbers.
Example: The set of odd integers between
4 and 8 is equal to the set of prime
numbers between 4 and 8.
Equivalent sets
Two finite sets A and B are said to
be equivalent if n(A)= n(B)
Example: A={2,4,6,8,10}
B={1,3,5,7,9}
n(A)=n(B)=5
therefore, A and B are Equivalent
sets.
The Universal Set
A set U that includes all of the
elements under consideration in a
particular discussion.
Depends on the context.
Examples: The set of Latin letters,
the set of natural numbers, the set
of points on a line.
The Cardinality of a Set
Notation: n(A)
For finite sets A, n(A) is the number
of elements of A.
For infinite sets A, write n(A)=∞.
The Membership Relation
Let A be a set and let x be some
object.
Notation: x A
Meaning: x is a member of A, or x
is an element of A, or x belongs to
A.
Negated by writing x A
Example: V = a, e, i, o, u . e V , b V .
Operations on Sets
1. Unions of sets
2. Intersection of sets
3. Complement of a set.
Unions
The union of two sets A and B is
A B = x x A or x B
The word “or” is inclusive.
Example: A={a,b,c}
B={1,2,3,4}
𝐴 ∪ 𝐵 = {𝑎, 𝑏, 𝑐, 1,2,3,4}
Intersections
The intersection of A and B is
A B = x x A and x B
Example: Let A be the set of even
positive integers and B the set of prime
positive integers. Then
A B = {2}
Definition: A and B are disjoint if
A B = Ø
Complements
o If A is a subset of the universal set U,
then the complement of A is the set
Ac = x U x A
Note: A Ac = ; A A = U
c
o
o Example: let U={0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,} be
the universal set of A
A={2,4,6,8}
𝐴𝐶 ={0,1,3,5,7}.
Possible Venn Diagrams
for Two Sets
U U
A B
A B
A B
The Complement of a Set
Ac
A
The shaded region represents the
complement of the set A
The Union of Two Sets
A B
The Intersection of Two Sets
A B
Sets Formed by Two Sets
o R1 = A Bc
R2 = A B
U
A B
R1
R2
R3 R3 = Ac B
R4
R4 = Ac Bc
Two Basic Counting Rules
If A and B are finite sets,
1. n( A B) = n( A) + n( B) − n( A B)
2. n( A B c ) = n( A) − n( A B)
See the preceding Venn diagram.